lessee... the little martin is one of the better sounding 3/4 dreads to my ear. it has more bass than most of the competitors. the solid top models i've tried didn't sound any better to me than the all laminate models, however.

the laguna LD1 (also called the little brat) sounds good for its size, has a solid top and looks pretty nice. costs just over half of the little martin.

one of the cheapest of the decent 3/4 dreads is the yamaha jr1 and has the shortest scale at only 21 1/4". it sounds much better with the right strings - silk and steel or DR phosphor bronze rares sound best to me. all laminate.

and if you're looking for a very small, quiet guitar, the washburn rover is cheap, has a solid top, and sounds good played quietly. as small as it is - and it's SMALL - it sounds decent unless you put any energy into it. then its small size doesn't deliver. i used silk and steels on mine - the tension was lower but it sounded purtier.

Quote by Skeet UK

I just looked in my Oxford English Dictionary and under "Acoustic Guitar", there was your Avatar and an email address!

lessee... the little martin is one of the better sounding 3/4 dreads to my ear. it has more bass than most of the competitors. the solid top models i've tried didn't sound any better to me than the all laminate models, however.

the laguna LD1 (also called the little brat) sounds good for its size, has a solid top and looks pretty nice. costs just over half of the little martin.

one of the cheapest of the decent 3/4 dreads is the yamaha jr1 and has the shortest scale at only 21 1/4". it sounds much better with the right strings - silk and steel or DR phosphor bronze rares sound best to me. all laminate.

and if you're looking for a very small, quiet guitar, the washburn rover is cheap, has a solid top, and sounds good played quietly. as small as it is - and it's SMALL - it sounds decent unless you put any energy into it. then its small size doesn't deliver. i used silk and steels on mine - the tension was lower but it sounded purtier.

Anything cheaper than the Yamaha? If not then it's fine. Any idea where I could buy used?

the yamaha is only $129. every cheaper travel guitar i've tried sounded like dung, and honestly some folks consider the yamaha isn't worth playing. used? try your local cl, although i haven't seen one on mine. you could try ebay, but used means you'd pay shipping, which would probably bring it close to the new price. hohner has a $99 guitar - i haven't tried it, but it might be acceptable to you.

there's the classical version of the yamaha. it sounds a little better, is the same size with a slightly wider nut. if you wait for the next holiday sale, you can probably grab it for $99 from musiciansfriend - i got mine for $99 from guitar center, but i had to pay sales tax.

if cheap is your main concern and you don't need a really small guitar, the rogue starter guitar actually sounds decent (at least ours does) and if you're lucky will be well intonated (ours is, but this will be the luck of the draw). the description you'll find everywhere makes it sound like a little guitar, but it isn't - it's smaller than a dread but larger than a standard classical. you can get it for under $60 with free shipping at musicians friendhttp://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/rogue-starter-acoustic-guitar

Quote by Skeet UK

I just looked in my Oxford English Dictionary and under "Acoustic Guitar", there was your Avatar and an email address!

i have a guitalele, too - doesn't sound like a guitar, more like a uke with a couple lower strings. that being said, the tuning allows you to play it like a guitar and it's $99. i tune mine to G instead of A and it sounds a bit less uke-like. and yeah, those short frets definitely mean a bit more precision when fingering.

Quote by Skeet UK

I just looked in my Oxford English Dictionary and under "Acoustic Guitar", there was your Avatar and an email address!

Hi all. I am working on a travel guitar design for a university project. I am looking for feedback regarding current travel guitars used and any associated problems that may have been encountered and any desirable features that users would like to see incorporated within a new travel guitar design.

Please feel free to say anything at all regarding your experiences of such and any ideas you may have for a new design.

Some questions i have are:

Would you like to see a different type of acoustic or electric guitar to those on offer?

How many frets would you like? (i am thinking of a 12 fret for compactness).

What body shape? i am thinking of a semi acoustic telecaster shape with pickups fitted.

Any feedback at all would be appreciated.

Many thanks in advance for your participation and even for simply reading this request.

Naughty dog, I have a thing about airlines insisting that my guitar goes in the hold where the temperature is not well regulated. I now have a Maton Mini 12 string acoustic electric, model EML/12. All the woods are solid Australian renewal forest timbers. Its overall length is 93cm - 3 feet plus half and inch- and 19 frets, with the last four over the soundbox. The action is easy and the sound is great, considering its size. You can get it in a classical (nylon) or 6 string steel string version. Comes with a Maton hard case worth about $200 US. The Maton Mini is expensive at $1400 Australian, but worth every cent. Best of all, it is small enough to be classified hand luggage. Read more on Maton's website. My view is that this is more than just a travelling guitar. It is the real thing in a small package.

Hey Chrisansie, thats a nice guitar, just seen on youtube. Would you compromise of fret number? Ie, 19 down to 17? You seem to like your guitar (obviously) but what would you change, add too, subtract from your guitar?

Hi all. I am working on a travel guitar design for a university project. I am looking for feedback regarding current travel guitars used and any associated problems that may have been encountered and any desirable features that users would like to see incorporated within a new travel guitar design.

Please feel free to say anything at all regarding your experiences of such and any ideas you may have for a new design.

Some questions i have are:

Would you like to see a different type of acoustic or electric guitar to those on offer?

How many frets would you like? (i am thinking of a 12 fret for compactness).

What body shape? i am thinking of a semi acoustic telecaster shape with pickups fitted.

Any feedback at all would be appreciated.

Many thanks in advance for your participation and even for simply reading this request.

What do you mean by different type? A folding guitar would be cool. Like, the neck would fold up.

I like having 21 frets.

Dreadnought with Cutaway would be nice. Thin for compactness would work great.

You'd have the make the scale quite a bit smaller though.And intonation?

I was looking for a 3/4 couple of months ago on trip to Bangkok. Got myself a Crafter TV34EQ, which is quite nice, but tried some cheap ones too. If you can get a try out of an Oscar Schmitt 3/4 it sounded surprisingly good stacked up against Taylors and Martins, and think they go for around $100 in USA. Non electric of course at that price. Seen on Amazon, and could always send it back if don't like, hassle tho that is. Here's a link I found to get a listen of sorts... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr5TAeNAJ-w

Hey Chrisansie, thats a nice guitar, just seen on youtube. Would you compromise of fret number? Ie, 19 down to 17? You seem to like your guitar (obviously) but what would you change, add too, subtract from your guitar?

Sorry, I only saw your post today. I have strung my Mini Maton as a nylon 12 string and it works absolutely fine. Yes, 17 frets would work for me as I seldom venture that far up the neck.